You have 4,321 variables, mostly numeric. You do not know, at the onset of the project, whether a dependence model (i.e., logistic regression model, a set multiple simultaneous equations) or an interdependence model (i.e., structural equationmodel, cluster analysis) is the required task.

My fellow data analysts, data miners, data scientists, data mechanics, and my favored statisticians, as you crack open the data, what is your first step?